12/11/17 12/11/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! pres. trump: hi, this is president donald trump and i need alabama to go vote for roy moore. amy: president trump records a robocall and leads a rally for accused child molester roy moore, the republican u.s. senate candidate in alabama. polls show moore locked in a tight race with democrat doug jones in tuesday's special election. a democrat hasn't won a senate seat in alabama since 1992.

then, from alabama to mississippi, where many black leaders boycotted the opening of two civil rights museums in protest of president trump's presence, we will speak with two of them, naacp president their johnson and jackson mayor chokwe lumumba. and in california, nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes amidst the fifth worst fire fueled by climate change. the fatal l blazes are now the fifth largest in california history. >> there was an awful lot of smoke that cameme along with the fireres. at one point on my property, when the fires got to a very dry area, and sounded like water going over niagara falls. int is the sound of the fire a particular area. amy: but many farms in the area have stayed open.

we will go to california to talk about the fires and the farm workers, some of whom have been forced to continue working despite hazardous air quality. all that and more, coming up. in alabama, democratat doug jons and republican roy moore are locked in a tight anand increasingly controversial race to fill the alabama a senate set left vacant by attorney general jeff sessions. polling shows the two candidates are neck in neck ahead of tuesday's special election, despite moore being accused by at least nine women of sexually harassing or assaulting them when they were teenagers. one of the women says moore removed her shirt and pants, then touched her over her bra and underwear, when she was only 14 years old. over the weekend, president trump recorded a robocall endorsing the accused child molester roy moore. and on friday, trump flew to pensacola, florida, near the alabama border for a campaign-style rally in support of moore.

pres. trump: we want people that are going to protect your gun rights, great trade deals instead of the horrible deals. [applause] pres. trump: and we want jobs, jobsbs, jobs. so get out and vote for roy moore. amy: on sunday, alabama republican senator richard shelby broke ranks from president trump and the republican national committee, saying he could not vote for roy moore and that his state could do better. meanwhile, the doug jones campaign orchestrated a massive get-out-the-vote effort over the weekend, backed by prominent african american politicians. we'll have more on alabama's special election after headlines. in the gaza strip, thousands of palestinians marched in funerals saturday for two hamas members who were killed friday when israeli warplanes dropped bombs on several buildings. the palestinian health ministry said at least 25 others were injured in the airstrikes, including six children.

reuters video of the aftermath showed a bloodied baby crying while being treated in a gaza hospital. israel's assault came after palestinians fired at least two rockets into southern israel. the rockets did not cause any injuries or damage. elsewhere, israel said it had destroyed a partialllly-constructed tutunnel connececting thehe gaza strip to israeli territory. the escalating violence came amid spiraling tensions over president donald trump's decision last week to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel and to relocate the u.s. embassy there. over the weekend, israeli security forces killed at least two palestinians and injured hundreds more as protests raged across the occupied west bank, east jerusalem, and the gaza strip. over the weekend, palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas said he will not meet mike pence during his planned trip to the region this month. and the arab league condemned trump's move to recognize

jerusalem as israel's capital, saying the u.s. could no longer be an n effective mediator in talks between the israelis and the palestinians. elsewhere, protests against the trump administration's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital continued over the weekend in cities around the world. in lebanon, security forces fired tear gas at protesters outside the u.s. embassy north of beirut. there were other large protests in indonesia, egypt, jordan, somalia, and morocco, as welasas s. cities. in france, hundreds protested in central paris as israeli prime minister was welcomed by french president emmanuel macron. macron called president trump's recognition ofof jerusalem a threat to peace and urged netanyahu to end the construction of illegal jewish-only settlements. in breaking news, police and new york city are investigating reports of explosion at the port authority bus terminal in manhattan. police say a possible type bomb exploded in a passageway below ground around 7:25 this morning.

they say one person is in custody and a few people reported injured. officials in a second arizona, have released a police body cam video showing an unarmed texas man holding his hands above his head, p pleading with policice r his life moments before he was shot dead by an officer who had ordered him to crawl toward the police. the video was releaseded thursd, just hours after a jury found mesa officer philip brailsford not guilty of murdering 26-year-old daniel shaver in a hotel hallway in 2016. brailsford was also acquitted of a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter. a warning to our listeners and viewers, this video is disturbing. >> you're going to fall on your face. are going to shoot you.

do you understand me echo >> yeyes, sir. >> crawled towards me. crawl towards me! >> yes, sir. man pleads for his life, the officer shoots him. the man was on his knees. two months after the shooting, the mesa police department fired brailsford for violating depapartment policy y after they discovered he had etched the expletive, "you're effed" into metal of the ar-15 assault rifie he used to kill shaver. but the judge in brailsford's murder trial ruled that detail was immaterial and didn't allow it to be presented to the jury. shaver's widow and parents say they'll now pursue wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of mesa and its police officers. drought-fueled wildfires raged toward south california's

coastal cities over the weekend, prompting a new round of evacuations and rescue operations. unseasonably strong winds have fueled blazes across the state for nearly a week, scorching land,30,000 acres of still going strong, forcing nearly 200,000 evacuations, and at one point, leaving more than 260,000 people without power. the wildfire is already the 10th -- fifth largest blaze on record in california state history. over the weekend, authorities ordered residents in parts of carpinteria and montecito to leave early on sunday as the fire barreled toward santa barbara. climate experts say the intensity of the winter blazes are linked to climate change. later in the broadcast we'll go to california for the latest on the wildfires. two u.s. senators haveve calledn president donald trump to resign over at least 16 allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted women. over the weekend, new jersey democrat cory booker told vice news --

"i just watched senator al franken do the honorable thing and resign from his office. my question is, why isn't donald trump doing the same thing -- who has more serious allegations against him, with more women who have come forward." democratic senator jeff merkley ofof oregon has also called for trump to resign. their comments came as trump's ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley, said on cbs that the women accusing trump should be taken seriously. haley was speaking with host john dickerson. >> how do you think people should assess the accusers of the president? thing.an, the same the women who accuse anyone should be heard. they should be heard and they should be dealt with. i think we heard from them prior to the election. i think any woman who has felt five related or felt mistreated in any way have every rigig too speaeak up. amamy: in mississippi, civil rights leaders gather to celebrate the opening of two new civil rights museums in jackson. the openings were marred by

controversy after president trump refused to heed the cause of civil rights leaders insistent on intending that inauguration. more on a protest over president trump at the mississippi civil rights museums openings later in the broadcast. we will beast begin with the mayor of jackson as well as the head of the naacp derrick johnson. chokwe lumumba and johnson both refused to participate and some of the ceremonies that involved president trump. in honduras, thousands of protesters marched on the u.s. embassy in tegucigalpa over the weekend, demanding the u.s. support either a new election or a recount of all votes in the november 26 poll. the protesters charge incumbent president juan orlando hernandez used hduras' natiol l elecon commisonon to g ththe llot after early counng showe opposionon candidate salvar naalla fivpoints ahead. th is protester maa a fernda bustil gomez

in ts momentwe are i front the unid states embassss we are prosting, ayou can see.e. it is a huge numr of honduns inront of e embas because we d't aee with at is ppeninin our cntry. weon't want tm tompose the president that his hourly and power, who wants to keep power. people elected a different person. it is obvious the opposition once, but they won't let him take power. amy: over the weekend, salvador nasralla formally challenged the results of last month's election in honduras, calling for an annulment of the results over what he called scandalous fraud. to see her interview with former honduran president manuel zelaya on friday, go to democracynow.org. in el salvador, judges have delayed a ruling on whether to free a woman who was sentenced to 30 years in prison after she gave birth to a stillborn baby. in 2008, teodora del carmen vasquez was convicted of intentionally inducing an abortion after she went into labor while at work, tried unsuccessfully to summon an

ambulance, and passed out on the floor of a bathroom after miscarrying. this is teodora del carmen vasquez speaking from a court hearing in san salvador on friday. >> they shouould give me my freedom. they should give me my freedom because i am innocent. because of a family who is fighting for me. because i have people who love me. amy: vasquez has drawn support from human rights groups including amnesty international, which warns that her appeal for an early release is being considered by the same judges who sentenced her to a 30-year prison term over a decade ago. in the philippines, thousands of people marked international human righghts day sununday wita march through the streets of manila, calling on president rodrigo duterte to step down. duterte has repeatatedly boasted about personally killing suspected drug dealers, and he's led a bloody so-called "war on drugs" that's seen police and vigilantes carry out more than 7000 extrajudicial killings. this is protester renato reyes, jr. >> there are so many violations of human rights happening right

now under the duterte regime. we see these violations are headed toward the establishment of an outright fascist dictatorship.. amamy: and in oslo, norway, , te nobel committee hahas awarded is annunual peace prize t to the leaders of the intnternational campaign to o abolish nuclear weapons, or ican. accepting the awarard sunday wee hiroshima nuclear bombing survivor setsuko thurlow and ican executive director beatrice fihn, who in her acceptance speech alluded to the threat of nuclear war posed by president donald trump. >> the story of nuclear weaeapos wiwill have an ending. and it is up to us to decide what that ending will be. will it be the end o of nuclear weapons? or will it be the end of us? one of thehese things will hapa. the only rational l course off action iss to cease living under the conditions were our mutual destruction is only one

impulsive tantrum away. beatricefihn accepting the award. to see our interview withthurlow, you can go to democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in alabama, where democrat doug jones and republican roy moore are locked in a tight and increasingly controversial race to fill l the alabama senatete t left vacant by attorney general jeff sessions. a democrat hasn't won a u.s. the election isa democrat hasn't won a u.s. tuesday. senate race in alabama for 20 years. polling shows the two candidates are neneck in neck, dedespite me being accused by at least nine women of sexually harassing or assaulting them when they were teenagers. one of the women says moore removed her shirt and pants, then touched her over her bra and underwear, when she was 1414 years old. she says she recalls thinking -- "i wanted it over with -- i wanted out. please just get this over with. whatever this is, just get it

over." president trump has repeatedly endorsed the accused child molester roy moore, including on when he held a rally in friday pensacola, florida, which is 20 miles from the alabama border and in the same media market as mobile, alabama. pres. trump: we want jobs, jobs, jobs.. so get out and vote for roy moore. that's president trump speaking friday. he has also recorded a robocall endorsing roy moore. pres. trump: hi, this is president donald trump. and i need alabama to go vote for roy moore. it is so important. we are already making america great again. i am going to make america safer and stronger and better than ever before. but we need that seat. we need roy voting for us. amy: roy moore has had a long and highly controversial

political career in alabama that's been marked by racism, homophobia, islamophobia, and religious fanaticism. judge moore was twice ousted as alabama's chief justice -- first, in 2003 for refusing to remove a monument of the ten commandments in the rotunda of the alabama judicial building. after beining reelecte he was again ousted in 202016, forr ordering his judges to defy the u.s.s.upreme court's ruliling legalizing marriage equality. he was a proponent of trump's racist and discredited birther theory about president obama. he has compared homosexuality to bestiality. he said minnesota congress member keith ellison's shouldn't hahave been allowed to be sworn into congress using a koran, which he compared to mein kampf. in 2011, roy moore proposed eliminating all amendments after the 10th, which includes 13th amendment prohibiting slavery and the amendment giving women the right to vote. in september, when askeded at a campaign rally when he thought amererica was last great, moore said -- "i think it was great at the time when fafamilies were united

-- even though we had slavery -- they cared for one another. our families were strong, our country had a direction." over the weekend, the doug jones campaign orchestrated a massive get-out-the-vote effort, particularly targeting african american voters. a number of prominent african american politicians, including new jersey senator cory booker, alabama congress member terri sewell, and former massachusetts democratic governor deval patrick all campaigned for jones across the state of alabama. jones' campaign ads are also highlighting his history as a u.s. attorney in the 1990's when he prosecuted the ku klux klan members who bombed 16th street baptist church in birmingham, killing four young g girls. on sunday, alabama republican senator richard shelby said he could not vote for roy moore. for royld not vote moore. i did not vote for roy moore.

i understand more the president is coming from. i understand we would like to retain that seat in the u.s. senate. but i tell you what, there is a time -- we call it a tipping point. and i think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip when it got to the 14-year-old story, that was enough for me. i said, i can't vote for roy moore. amy: that t was senator richardd shelby o of alabama. a republican. or more, we go to washington, d.c., where we're joined by peter montgomery, senior fellow at people for the american way. his recent piece is headlined "there's more than one roy moore scandal." talk about roy moore peter montgomery. moore: wrote "roy history of bigotry, tourism, contempt for the rule of law." talk about the scandals around the former alabama judge.

>> you are to the action did a great job outlining some of them. i think it is scandalous that we have republican party and a president supporting someone from the senate whose hold career has demonstrated such contempt for court restitution principles and the rule of law. and that is before you consider the allegations that are made by a number of women about him praying on mls to teenage girls. roy moore has a long record of violating court orders when he disagrees with them. he thinks they violate h his biblical worldview. amy: you have done a comprehensive log at his history. go back to the beginning and talking about what you know about roy moore. >> roy moore which a law school after he had gone to west point and served in vietnam. and after he got out of law

school, he became an assistant district attorney, which is when he allegedly was involved in praying on teenage girls. after that, he became a state judge in the northeastern part of the state. that is when he had his first big controversy over his misuse of the court to promote his religious beliefs. he hung a handmade plaque of the 10 commandments in his courtroom . and he was beginning sessions with jurors with christian prayers. he was very explicit about the fact that others could join him in prayer, but only if they were christians. he would not allow muslims or buddhists because they don't worship the right god. so there was a lot of controversy over that of the time. this is a late 1990's. religious right leaders around the country came and rallied around him. he sort t of use that as his --s the launching point of his political career and his first

run for chief justice, which he was elected in 2000. amy: talk about being removed fromom the bench in both cases d what that means for a chief justice to be removed from the alabama bench. obviously, that is something very extraordinary. here you have someone who is elected by the voters who is the top judge in the state supreme court. and his fellow judges took steps to remove him for violating his professional responsibilities. the first time he had, again, played on his support for the 10 commandments and his desire to use the courts to promote his religious belief and is religious worldview. he had this huge 10 commandments monument carved out of granite and brought into the state courthouse that he presided over. him ton a court ordered

remove that, he refused. and so for defying the court order, he was removed by his fellow judges. it is interesting that moore loved to say he is the victim of persecution by radical liberals and lgbt people, but he was removed by other state judges from alabama. i don't think that is a hotbed of left-wing radicalism. then a decade after he was kicked out, he was elected again . this time, he was challenged because he started to order lower judges in the state to ignore 21st -- a federal judge to rule in favor of marriage equality in the state. later when the supreme court of the united states had the decision that endorsed marriage equality across the country, he again told judges they should not follow that order. and that was crossing the line the e second time.

he was suspended permanently from his job at that time. issue ofhe homosexuality, roy moore has compared homosexuality to be ality. -- beasti can you talk about president trump's endorsement of roy moore and did this surprise you, peter montgomery? >> i'm not sure if there's anything president trump that surprises me. it doesn't surprise me that he is supported roy moore because roy moore has praised president trump, positioned himself as someone who wants to help president trump make a great again. trump wants his vote in the senate. i do think it is scandalous that the republican party has gone along with trump and supported royone who is as extreme as moore is. i think they need to be held accountable for it on the issue of gay rights and lgbt --moore is utterly opposed to the core

constitutional principle of equality under the law. it is not just about opposition to gay marriage for him. he wants to make homosexuality criminal. he was to go back to the days when being gay was per se a criminal act. he has backed up that kind of thinking as a judge. taking ated, in 2002, child away from a woman because she was a lesbian. he said that anybody who participate in such an inherently evil act as homosexuality is an nearly an anit parent -- inherently unfit parentnt. that is teterrifying. amy: earlier this year, roy moore called for the removal of the judge who struck down trump's ban on transgender military people. moore's statement said -- "judge kollar-kotelly should be

impeached by the house of representatives for unlawful usurpation of power. not only has she placed herself above the constitution. but she has also interfered with the powers of the president as commander in chief of the armed forces." >> that really takes us to another core constitutional principle, which is judicial independence and the rule of law. moore has no respect for judges who disagree with him. obviously, the example you just cited is one. he also spoke at a religious right political conference earlier this year that i went to to hear him speak. he said there that the supreme court justices who supported and rolled in favor of marriage equality should be impeached. and he vowed specifically when he gets to the senate, he will use his power as a senator to stop what he calls the submission to the federal judiciary by the legislative branch. he clearly is no supporter of judicial independence, which is something that americans have relied on to defend and uphold our rights.

amy: in 2011, roy moore proposed eliminating all and amamendments after the 10th amendment, which include the amendments prohibiting slavery, giving women and african-americans the right to vote. he was speakiking on a radio sh. ani would like to see amendment that says all an -- it wouldter 10 eliminate many problems. people don't understand how some of these amendments have completely try to wreck the form of government that our forefathers intended. amy: peter montgomery, can you talk about this. eliminating everything after the 10th a memo and then when asked by the only black member r of an audience recently about when was america great not referring to make america great again, he refers to slavery time. >> this gets to a big picture

worldview on the fringes of the fervor the movement that roy moore is deeply intertwined with. the nostalgia for the constitutional order that is utterly grounded in states rights, whether federal government has radically limited powers to interfere with what the states do and to protect individual civil rights. and roy moore is very tied up in that. it is connected to a radical christian reconstructionist theology that says the federal government has no role in education or care for the poor or feeding the hungry, that those are all jobs that god has reserved for the family and the church. so it is really disturbing to hear moore talk like that. but when you realize the worldview that he is coming from -- has beens made made clear during his career that he embraces, it is not that

surprising. amy: roy moore said "i'm going to tell you about the only thing i know that the islamic faith has done in this country is 9/11." --also said that the koran keith ellison, should not be able to be sworn in on his holy book, on the koran , comparing it tomein kampf. episodenk the whole with keith ellison should in itself, even if you ignore all of the other things we talked about come all of the other radicalism and extremism, the keith ellison episode itself should make him unfit and should shame every republican who is now endorsing him. keith ellison was elected to serve in the congress. and as a muslim, he chose for his ceremonial swearing-in to use the koran, the with the most numbers of congress do a ceremonial swearing-in using the bible. roy moore just use that as an

opportunity to display his raw religious bigotry and is leave that christians in america are the real americans. he said that congress should --i'm in,seat moore keith ellison, because he said it was impossible for muslim to honestly torn out to uphold the constitution. it is so offensive that i thinik thatat in itself should be disqualified. amy: peter montgomery, right now the race is too close to call. at [captioning made possible by democracy now!] we don't really rely on polls of thech before the day election. can you talk about the strategy of doug jones this weekend bringing in tough -- top-american leaders african a mecca leaders to push hard to get the african-american vote out. it might simply be vote count being up, the issue in alabama downting polls being cut

under voter laws that have been increasingly restrictive. >> we certainly see that is been one of the big picture strategies and republican party. particularly once the conservatives on the with supreme court gutted key provisions of the voting rights act. voters oppression and laws that make it harder to vote are huge concern. so i think that kind of concerted get out the vote a mobilizing is really important. it is great the party and the doug jones campaign was doing that and that doug jones has also been trying to build on the sentiments that were expressed by richard shelby in your introduction among the republicans who do not feel comfortable being represented by roy moore and doug jones has run some ads featuring those republicans to try to, i think, encourage republicans who by crossover. so i think it is important that

he is doing both those things. he is a feeling to republicans who just can't go there with roy moore, but also working hard to get out the democratic vote because that is really feel the way doug jones has a chance to win. of: there was a focus group moore's supporters will stop once had, there were a lot of mamas and that is obese or older 14 old was getting hit on by a district attorney also another voters said open what the women's reputations were questionable at the timeme. peter montgomery? the allegations of s sexual abue and that roy moore is an accused pedophile? >> the focus group was really disturbing for a number of reasons. the one you mentioned about someone saying back then, it would've been ok. it is stunning. there some good work done by religion scholars, including

julie ingersoll, who is reported on the fact within certain parts of the conservative christian movement that focus on biblical patriarchy and female submission a man, this idea of older men marrying teenage girls is part of that subculture. phil robertson from "duduck dynasty"y" has bececome is the religious right republican party activist, he basically said that girls should get married at 15 or 16. if they're young enough then, guys can be sure they are pure for them and rover from their fr new husband. strain ofdisturbing conservative christianan subculture that roy moore is connected to. amy: want to thank you, peter montgomery, for joining us, senior fellow at people for the american way.

we will link to your pieces "there's more than one roy moore scandal," and your report on roy moore. the accused pedophile will run a special election on tuesday against doug jones for the u.s. byate seat that was vacated jeff sesessions, who became president trump's attorney general. of couourse, we will be reportig on that tomorrow. and richard shelby, the latest news, the alabama republicican senator coming out against roy moore saying he could not support him. president trump, on the other hand, has made robocalls supporting roy moore, held a rally supporting roy moore and the mobile, alabama, media market this w weekend in pensacola, florida. supporting the accused pedophile. this is democracy now! we will be back in a minute in

jackson, mississippi, where president trump went to dedicate the opening of two new civil rights museums. our guests did not go to all the families protesting president trump's presence. at the museums themselves are quite remarkable. we will talk about the history. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: emmylou harris. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to mississippi, where civil rights leaders gathered on saturday to celebratate the openening of tww civivil rights museums in jacks. ofgoing through the museum wepept because i felt theblows, i bullets, i felt the tears, i fefelt the cries.

amy: that was myrlilie evers-williams, the widow of the murdered civil rights icon medgar evers speakingg at the inauguration of the civil rights museum in jackson on saturday. she was speaking outside. a slew of civil rights leaders boycotted the events in protest of president trump's attendance. those who boycotted including african american democratic congress members john lewis of georgia, bennie thompson of mississippi, they wrote in a joint statement google president trump's disparaging comments about women, the disabled immigrants, and national , football league players disrespect the efforts of fannie lou hamer, aaron henry, medgar evers, robert clark, james chaney, andrew goodman, michael schwerner, and countless others who have given their all for mississippi to be a better place." for more, we go to jackson, mississippi, where we are joined by the naacp president derrick johnson and jackson mayor shall ,ave lumumba --chokwe lumumba

both who protested saturday's events. johnson called it an affront to the veterans of the civil rights movement. .et's begin with mayor lumumba can you talk about what happened on saturday in your town, in jackson, the significance of this museum and president trump's presence there? post up and foremost, thank you for having us. on saturday, we opened a museum that tells a necessary hisistor. it speaks to horrible suffering that has gone on in mississippi and the need to put that story forward so that we don't repeat those same mistakes. that is why we felt that trump's coming for the occasion was inconsistent with the very premise by which we are celebrating this history and the

sacrifices which led to its building. this is a principled stance. we felt it was disingenuous to the movement. my failure or my desire not to attend was based on my appreciation for the legacy of those individuals who sacrifice with their lives, put themselves in harms way. and my respect for the legacy would not allow me to attend.d. amy: so you did not go to any of these ceremonies, mayor lumumba? >> i did not attend the presentation or i was not a part donaldpresentation that trump was a part of. there have been events taking place all week or this previous weekend, so i had an opportunity to celebrate the opening of the museum. and i want to be clear that we are happy that this museum is opening. we invite people to come and celebrate the history, to come

and learn. we won't people both near and far to come. mississippi has been known for so much negative history. and now we want to be the authors of a new story. so it is important we recognize this history in that effort to move forward. amy: derrick johnson, you are the president of the naacp, which also boycotted the migration of the museum because presenceent trump's this weekend. interestingly, the former chair of the board is myrlie evers-williams, is the widow of medgar evers. and she did speak outside. is that right? talk about your decision. >> she did speak outside, it issue is very clear she did not want to give the president a photo op. i believe that led to only a private ceremony for him to walk through the museum. the legacy of the civil rights movement in mississippi is near and dear.

many of the veterans are still around. they serve as our mentors. their individuals who sacrificed so much. for this president to come and seek a photo op and not upholding of the values they fought for -- the civil rights movement was based on some basic principles. access to democracy, allowing individuals particularly of african descent to cast a vote, free of voter suppression. this psident support the commission that further supports foot or suppression. it was based on opening up access to health care. that is why we have the health centers across the country led by dr. robert smith who still practices as a physician today. this president is seeking to roll back the affordable care act, which would limit access to health care. the movement was around making sure individuals are not exploited for free and cheap labor. this president do not support many of the causes to deepen the ability of working americans to

make a viable living. so why should we a citizens of , why should members of the civil rights community, why should our legacy be tarnished by an individual who do not hold the values? that is why we decided that we would not be a part of any function where this president would attend any and not your ration of this civil rights museum. -- and i your ration of the civil rights museum. amy: the gun that was used to kill medgar evers, who is buried at arlington national cemetery, is in the new museum? i am a certain of the fact of whether the gun is there. i have not had an opportunity to view it. but what we want to share is that we feel that president trump's attendance at this event is inconsistent.

it is inconsistent with the policies he implements such ass mr. johnson so well -- so properly articulated. is more than just politics as usual. it is not about the democrat or republican, it is about understanding that we have to have a principled stance and an admiration. both derrick and myself are children of a movement. we look and learn from these individuals as he suggested that we have such great admiration evers and the other veterans of this movement. out of that respect and appreciation, we felt it was important t that wee n not be pt . and we understand the contradiction that other individuals have had to face in going, so we're not casting any

judgment on any individual who made the choice to attend. but we felt our principled stance had to be one of that allowing donald trump an opportunity for a photo op. amy: i'm looking at a piece by jackson, mississippi, investigative reporter jerry mitchell who said the mississippi civil rights museum is the first of its kind in the nation to be state-sponsored in state-funded. another $19 million has been raised privately for the exhibits millions more been raised to ensure that every ninth grade in mississippi can visit the civil rights and mississippi history museums. can you talk about this, mayor lumumba? >> well, we celebrate the work that has been done to bring this to fruition. both from the state's standpoint and many unnamed individuals. there is been a lot of work that is gone into it, bringing the

exhibits forward. the courage of the individuals who survived this movement and continue to push forward the ideals of the movement, you know, those are necessary contributions. at the top of our discussion, we encourage people both locally and abroad to visit these museums, to learn of this history, and ago on several occasions -- and to go on several occasions. this is a necessary point in our history. where we are speaking to a necessary story. to learn ofveryone that story. we want everyone, beyond jujust learning of it, embrace the ideals. when we speak about the attendance of the president, we understand that it is important have museums like this, important to talk about the history. it even more important than the celebration of the museum, the celebratn n of the i ideals of this movement and our actions

each and every day. and that is what we are found to be inconsistent in the president. amy: responding to commerce and lewis -- >> let's be clear aboutut jerry mitchell's piece. the reason why thihis is the fit state-sponsorered civil rights museum is a direct result of the success of the civil rightss movement and all of the fights that weree made in the furtherance of it. the state took on n this because we have more black elected officials in any of the country. when this s was first adopted, e black caucus, the largest in the house of repepresentatives, were forceful in making sure it was moved through. that was a direct result of the civil l rights struggle. as a result of those fights and many others, we e celebrate this accomplilishment. thisis was not at ththe benevole of t the state. this wasas a hard-won phot of individuduals who o sacrificed , continued to fight. when you see us sittining here,e arare part of a continuum.

we have the e same mentors. we identify with the same causes because we want toto see a state like mississippi to allow all of the citizens to benefit from the fruits of the state. we are still fighting. we have a c confederate emblem n our flag. live individuals who were before neither one of us to be - -- prprefer neieither one of us toe the posititions we are in. .hthe struggle continues amy: interestingly, for an and don are senior died defending his family from a nighttime attack by the ku klux klan on generate 10, 1966. inside the civil rights museum, trump viewed a photograph of the four sons all and the armed forces at the time returning home to find their family home burned to the ground. ' isr family skipped trump speech but did attend the opening ceremonies. derrick johnson, responding to

the skipping of the sermon, the what as presbytery sarah sanders said on thursday, "we think it is important these members of commerce would not join the president in honoring the incredible sex by civil rights leaders made to right the injustices in our history. the president hopes others will join him in recognizing that the movement was about removing barriers and unifying americans of all backgroundsds." very interesting that he would say that but the civil rights leader, one who did boycott was one that is being -- thatat wasa part of this movement, toto say the least,t, as you're pointing out, so many people were who boycotted the man that was john lewis. >> that shows you the shallowness of this administration's understanding of the civil rights movement. timepent a lot off here.

it is a shallow view of what is taking place. [indndiscernible] decide to attend or not to attend, they have a right to do c celebratition of the opening of this museum is a celebration of their hardrd wor, their sacrifice. and their determination that all members of this society will bee trtreated with human dignity. president'sadd, the effort to define a civil rights movement for us in mississippi for the demonstrates that he misses the point. that he does that understand that it is not for him to define for us, that the individuals who have sacrificed their lives that came for this celebration fully understand what they were engaged in. as we sit here at this moment, we don't make the stance e or te

a principled stance that we were not going to attend out of igignorance, but out of understanding. because, as you mentioned, my father was actually mentioned in ntelpro documents and mississippi. there is an exhibit that reflects work that he was a part of in the 1970's. so we are well aware of what this means. we are well aware of what the civil rights movementt means at that time and what it means today. and that is i would tatake a principled stance that someone who's policies, someone whose actions demonstrate on a consistent basis that he has no intent on advancing the ideals of this movement, that it would be -- it would be inconsistent or it would be inappropriate for us to stand and allow him a photo opportunity. amy: i want to ask you about cory booker coming down this weekend to alabama and roy

moore. he has called for president trump to resign. chokwe lumumba, mayor of jackson, g feel trump should resign? he was talking about the 16 women who have made allegations of sexual harassment abuse against the president will stop >> i think the president has demonstrated a recklessness that is very concerning. and i think that in the light -- in light of that policy and in light of the contradictions that we see throughout the country as we talk about civil rights, we can't talk about civil rights without discussing women's rights. and what i am happy is that we are bringing into the forefront and discussions that needed to be had a long time ago. and any person who has failed to respect, who has dishonored woman in any way such as the president is accused of -- if

that is true -- he should step down. amy: derrick johnson, your naacp.nt and ceo of the are you calling for president trump to resign? w what is the standard? it is the standard that you treat all humans with dignity and respect. level of it with the integrity. this president has thahat been accused of sexual harassment, he admitted on tape that he harassed women. and if that is the standard we're looking at, yes, he should step down. same standardrd they held presentnt clinton to d durg the moninica lewinsky investstigation. it is same standard that w we should uphold ourselves -- that everyone should be treated with human dignity, whether you ask an american, you're a woman, or latino. and with that, we can make a better democracy. if you try to operate e with a lelevel of hypocrisy and bring your moral judgment against

othehers yet you cannot hold the same standard, then you are not entitled to the dignity of the office of the presidency. you should not be entitled to that office. amy: finally -- >> yes, he should step down. amy: president trump use this trip coming to the jackson museum also to hold a campaign rally for the accused pedophile roy moore in neighboring alabama. you are the mayor of a southern city right near alabama. what would be the effect of roy moore being elected on tuesday in this special election? your thoughts on roy moore? >> i think that it further advances this effort to see a rise in bigotry in our society, a rise in all that this movement that we support was against. theurther demonstrates inconsistency. it further demonstrates that the principal or the values the

people suggest that they stand with theirnsistent actions. i have been listening to conversation about whether this is a value versus interest discussion in the support of roy moore. your values should never be in competition with your interests. should oh support your values. at any point that they depart, then your values should win out at the end of the day. so anyone who could be e -- who could take advantage of children, anyone -- i am the father of a little girl and have another little girl on the way. i can't imagine supportiti someone who would ever takeke advantage of a y young child. amy: derrick j johnson? >> you look at the state of alabama. they have not come to grips with the fact they'rere being used under a level of fear mongering of race and religion. if they are truly a moral

cocommunity,y, they would not be able t to stand d by and a man o is a pedophile, wiwith accused r otherwise. everything points that we have a problem with this individidual s ining a pedophilile. the two of the conservative right in the south of always been t to use race and religigio motivate whitess to vote against the own interest, and we're seeing t that right now. the outcome of this election willll not be on an indictment r whether oror not african-americs turn out to vote or not. itit is anti-nonwhite alabamians who decide to put politics and partrty and fear about thehe vae of children and protection of childrenen. it will be a sadad state f for s nation for the individual to be seated in n the u.s. senate, but does how far we have not come in the south, particularly the white community, across the south, who would put party and ofter and misaligned i use protection of children.

amy: would a thank you both for being with us, derrick johnson, president of the naacp, and mayor of jackson, chokwe antar lumumba. we come back, we go to california. the fifth worst wildfire in the state. we will talk to two people deeply concerned among other issues of farm workers who are being required to work and without protective gear. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!

i'm amy goodman. drought-fueled wildfires raged toward southern california's coastal cities over the weekend, scorching to under 30,000 acres of land, forcing nearly 200,000 people to evacuate. at least one woman has died so far. the wildfire come to fit largest on record so far, and california history. the largest ever recorded in climate expeperts say the december. intensitity of the winter blazes is linked to climate change. authorities have warned residents to stay inside because of the dangerous air quality caused by smoke and carcinogenic ash from the fires. but a number of farms have stayed open, sparking concerns farm workekers are labororing in hazardous conditions without proper equipment. last week, volunteers handing out free protective masks to farm workers say they were kicked off some farms, despite the fact that the pickers were asking for the safety equipment. well, for more, we go now to southern california where we're joined by two guests. via video stream lucas zucker is , joining us from ventura in southern california.

he was evacuated last week due to the wildfires. zucker is the policy and communications director for cause -- central coast alliance united for a sustainable economy. he helped distribute respirator masks to farm workers who had to continue working despite the hazazardous air quality conditions. by phone, we're joinedd by democratic california state assembly member monique limon who represents santa barbara and ventura county. state assembly member limon, can you tell us what you're calling for right now? areas where we are really focusing on. the fire itself, but in terms of the farm workers, we have the ability to talk calosha are department of employment and safety. we also had the ability to talk with the growers association and that has been particularly -- making sure we ensure that all of the farmers have information about how to keep workers safe during these conditions. this is an emergency situation. what concerns us is that in both santa barbara and ventura

county, not only have we had that air quality, but the system in place to measure air quality has actually deemed it hazardous in certain parts of these counties. and so it has been -- it has been very much part of our messaging to our entire somunity that air quality is bad that it is considered hazardous in some areas, bad in others, and that we needed -- we have asked people take care of their health. we have anyone working outside with conditions -- amy: let me bring lucas zucker into this in the last 20 seconds. what a be found among the farm workers? 15 seconds before the end of show. >> we are found thousands of farm workers in the protective masks that they need. we have been mobilizing folks in the community to talk to them. workers are faced with this horrific choice of it are giving up the income they desperately need in a time like this were be out in conditions that are

endangering their health and safety. amy: we will leave it there but do part two and post it democracynow.org at democracynow.org. thank you so much. this is democracy now! check for the web access. [captioning made possible by demo